


Breaking down

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s05e21 Gaza, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-10-08
Updated: 2009-10-08
Packaged: 2019-05-30 20:57:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15104741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of theWest Wing Fanfiction Central, a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in theannouncement post.





	Breaking down

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: My first attempt at writing fanfic... Be kind! It just makes me sad that there's not more J/D-fic being written anymore, so I thought I'd give it a go.  
Oh, and I do not own these characters! I just wish that the people that do would put them to better use...  


* * *

She was wandering around the kitchen when he called, looking for something trivial like a spare lightbulb... Since the move to Florida, she hadn’t chosen a place to store practical things like that, so today she was trying her best to remember where in the world they were.When she answered the phone and she heard his voice breaking, her world stopped turning and everything up until this moment lost its importance. 

Her little boy, “the president’s bulldog” who was never at a loss for words, could barely say anything. When she heard him choke out “Donna”, she had to grab the table for support. Her son’s wonderful, happy assistant had always had a special place in her heart. 

Josh had called his parents the night after she joined the campaign, which was surprising to say the least, cause he was usually too busy to call. Leah remembered how he animatedly told them the story of the girl that hired herself, making his father laugh so hard he had almost been crying. After Noah’s death, Leah tried to keep in touch more, making sure Josh was alright. He didn’t have much time on his hands though, which was why she ended up talking to Donna more. At first it was the logical result of Josh not being around, but after the shooting her calls were specifically to talk to this sweet girl that took such good care of her son. Even a couple of days ago they had talked and Donna had been so excited: Josh had finally caved in and given her the opportunity to join the CODEL in Gaza.

Leah swallowed hard and didn’t allow herself to assume the worst. Instead she started firing questions at her son. 

“Isn’t she in Gaza? What happened? Is she okay?”

“No, she’s not okay mom. She’s not”, he sniffed. 

“Joshua?”, his mother said, hoping he would finally give her some more information.

“There was a bomb. They were in a car and there was a bomb and there are people dead, mom. And they had it live on CNN. The car was upside down. And she was bleeding, oh god, there was so much blood”, he was rambling on now. “What if she dies? She can’t die, she just can’t.”

“Joshua honey, don’t think about that. She is not going to die, you hear me? Donna’s a tough girl, god knows she must be, for putting up with you for all those years! You just have to find out where they are taking her and go see for yourself how she’s doing.”

“Mom, I can’t...you know that. As much as I would love to do...just that, no one will allow it. It wouldn’t.... you know...look right”, he was really crying now.

“Well Josh, what I know is that, at this point, I do not care how it looks and you shouldn’t either.” 

“I,... We’ll see... I have some calls to make, I need to find out how she is... I need to make sure the people who did this get what they deserve.”

“Okay darling, you go find out what’s going on, and call me when you know okay?”

“I will...”  
“Hey mom?”

“Yes sweetheart?”

“I love you”

“I love you too and she’s going to be alright” 

Defeated, Leah hung up the phone and finally let herself cry. Donna was going to be alright. She had to be, or who knows what might happen to her son...

*One hour later*

CNN kept replaying the same footage of the SUV getting blown up. Leah had tried watching it a couple of times, hoping to hear more about Donna’s condition, but it was too painful. Especially since they now had confirmation that the other passengers were all dead. She felt so sorry for Donna’s parents who could do nothing but wait, forced to watch these horrible images of their daughter, waiting for updates, just like the rest of them. Like her son.

And then she just couldn’t take it anymore. She picked up the phone and called the familiar number. This time, she asked for a different extension though...

“Hello?” sounded the voice of Leo McGarry.

“Seriously, for the President’s COS you can be surprisingly clueless Leo” she grumbled, “No call screening for you?”

“Well, there are some more pressing matters going on here...”, he said, trying to tread carefully.

“I know Leo, he called me... He’s falling apart.”, she pleaded. “You know this isn’t right Leo, he’s supposed to be with her. He needs to know she’s alright.”

“He’s not doing too well, no. But he can’t go, Leah. You know how that would look”

“Leo! He needs to be there, we all know how he feels, except for him. He’s breaking in half because of it, but he has no idea why. Tell him to go!” 

“I can’t do that. But he’s a grown man: he shouldn’t go, but if he wants to, he can.”

“Well, he won’t, unless you tell him he can, Leo. Please tell him he can...”

“Look, I have a meeting now, but I’ll see what I can do...”

“You better tell him to go, Leo!” she said before she threw down the phone and started pacing around and decided to turn the tv on again.

They finally had some news about Donna. Apparently she was being taken to the military hospital in Landstuhl. It did mean she was stable enough to make the trip, but Leah couldn’t stop worrying.  
She was still listening to the same news being repeated for the twentieth time, hoping for new info, when the phone rang. She immediately grabbed it off the hook.

“Josh?”

“I’m at the airport. I leave in half an hour”, he said, sounding like he was asking a question instead of giving her the facts.

“Good”

“I didn’t bring anything” he said with the voice of a lost little boy.

“Do you need anything? I can send some things to the hospital”, she asked while she felt her heart break for him.

“No” he said while he could no longer hold back the tears in his eyes, “I just need her to be alright”

“I know, honey, I know”, his mother said and this time they cried for Donna together.


End file.
